In interviews promoting Strange Times, the band's first self-produced album, bandmembers have characterized the producer's function as "taking it (the recording) home at night and worrying about it."

The producer is the person responsible for creating an overall sound or "feel" to a recording. In most cases, the producer acts as the focal point for an artist and judges whether or not something "works." And in some cases, as with Alan Tarney on Keys of the Kingdom, he waits until the artists have left the studio and records his own vocals for the background. Yes, producers have been known to make changes without the consent of the artist. Since they're usually under contract to the record company and it's the record company who ultimately decides if a product is to be released, it's not unusual for changes to be made long after the artist's work is done, especially if it's a higher-profile band on a major label.

Graeme Edge summed up this state of affairs in an interview with the Dallas Morning News on October 15, 1999, "Today, producers want to show up with their keyboards, bang them out and turn you into the Spice Boys."